Rask's Stellar Night Leads B's in Game 4

TORONTO - Jake DeBrusk potted a crucial goal on Thursday night. His insurance tally early in the third period was the dagger in the Bruins' pivotal 3-1 victory over the Maple Leafs in Game 4 of their opening-round series.
But even the rookie winger knew whose performance was most important on this night.

"[Tuukka Rask] was the biggest reason why we won," said DeBrusk. "They came out pretty hard there after they scored that first goal, they were all over us. It was impressive to watch. He's the biggest reason why we won today, for sure. He kept the game winnable."
Rask's 31-save spectacle paced the Bruins as they surged to a commanding 3-1 series lead, providing themselves a chance to close out the series on Saturday night at TD Garden. The 31-year-old netminder was particularly stout early on as the Bruins attempted to find their footing following the late news that Patrice Bergeron would miss the game with an upper-body injury.

Despite potting the game's first goal on Torey Krug's tally just 28 seconds into the contest, the Bruins struggled through the first period, during which Toronto peppered Rask with 12 shots. The Maple Leafs eventually tied the game on Tomas Plekanec's wrister from the slot at 7:43, but the damage could have been much greater.
"It was very important," Rask said of shutting down the Leafs' early flourish. "The last period was our best period, for sure. But we hung in there and we capitalized on our chances when we got a couple 2-on-1s there. Sometimes when you play a team that's desperate, that needs a win, you've got to weather the storm. I think we did. We did it together and at the end of the day we got the W, so that's great."
Perhaps Rask's best save of the night came just prior to Plekanec's marker, when he stoned Patrick Marleau off of a 2-on-1, sliding post-to-post to turn it away with his right pad. The Finnish backstop closed the door on another of the Leafs' patented stretch plays midway through the second when he denied Mitch Marner's breakaway attempt to keep the game tied.
"Happened pretty quick," Rask said of Marner's breakaway. "Had time to get my gap…he's a pretty good goal scorer, so I had no idea what he was gonna do. He shot, tried to have my gap in control. Made a save this time."

The save set the tone for the eventual game-winner which came off the stick of Brad Marchand with 3:05 to play in the second period, when the winger finished off a feed from David Pastrnak (two assists) on a 2-on-1.
"[Tuukka] played a phenomenal game," said Marchand. "He's one of the best goalies in the world. Gives us an opportunity to win every night. Made a lot of big saves at the right time early on to give us a chance to get back in the game. Gotta give him a lot of credit tonight."
Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy expected a desperate Maple Leafs team to bring their best as they attempted to avoid a two-game series deficit in their home rink. As such, a strong night from his ace goaltender was a must.
"On the road, you're gonna need a little extra at some point, especially against a team that was down a couple in our building," said Cassidy. "We got it, we got it. We needed it because early on they were better. We kind of found our legs there and started managing the puck a little better, got stronger on it.
"Then we came on and scored some goals for him. It's a good formula. Every team needs goaltending. There's the odd time, the odd night, you're going to get away without it. It's human nature. But tonight we needed him to dig in and be very good and he was."

Boston will need a repeat performance from Rask in Game 5 if they expect to secure what the Bruins believe will be the hardest victory of the series.
"We're going to prepare ourselves as good as we can, go for the win," said Rask. "That's the only mindset you can have, I guess. Those last games, when you have a clinching game, they're always the toughest ones. The other team is going to come out hard and do whatever they can to try to win.
"We have to be mentally and physically ready and get some rest tomorrow. Back at it Saturday."

Bergeron Sidelined

Just minutes into warmups, it was announced that Bergeron would miss Game 4 with an upper-body injury. The pivot, who practiced on Wednesday, was termed as day-to-day.
"As we said, he has an upper-body injury we were managing," said Cassidy. "Wasn't able to go, so he'll be classified as day-to-day and hopefully he's better and ready to go Saturday."
With Bergeron out, Riley Nash - as he did during Bergeron's month-long absence with a fractured right foot - slid up to the top line and filled in admirably between Marchand and Pastrnak. Nash played 19:10, registering one shot on goal and winning 48% of his faceoffs (12 of 25).
"Riley did a great job," said Pastrnak. "He's a smart player, very good defensively. He did a really good job for us today. It's not easy to play with me and March, especially in D zone. Did a great job. We miss Bergy, but [Nash] is a big piece to our team."